The 100 Most Underappreciated Albums of the 2010s: 74-50
74. Owen Pallett - Heartland
Anyone who knows me knows I am not a fan of musicals, so something in that particular vein really has to be special to grab me. And man, what a special ride Heartland is. Although it wasn’t underappreciated during its time, earning a BNM on release, it feels as though it’s been lost to the age, due in part to its disassociation with any big trends or moments. Shame, as it is undoubtedly a record crafted with the utmost care and precision, Pallett flexing their musical prowess in a remarkably fun way.
73. Nickelus F - Stuck
There is a reason that Nickelus F is in the 106 & Park Hall of Fame. His raps are buttery smooth, but also engaging while being effortlessly complementary toward his beats. A rapper’s rapper in every sense.
72. Mastodon - The Hunter
Mastodon’s prog interest started waning on this LP, but the riffs are still crunchy as ever. Like Queens of the Stone Age before them, dudes can just write a fucking riff and it’ll bang.
71. Lil Yachty - Lil Boat
Earnest, loving, fun, original; all things that great rap should be.
70. Dirty Beaches - Stateless
Alex Zhang Hungtai is another one of those musicians that had one brief glimmer and phased out of the spotlight despite never stopping making good music. Stateless is a great piece of ambient that takes much of its inspiration from his transient persona—being Taiwanese and Canadian and never fully identifying with either country. It’s a gripping piece on the sublimation of ethnography and the purgatorial existence that defines disconnection.
69. TASO: TEKLIFE TILL THE NEXT LIFE VOL. 1
Underlooked compared to most of Teklife, TASO’s initial record brings an energy and aggression most reminiscent of RP Boo’s brand of footwork. With samples ranging from Migos to C.R.E.A.M’s Charmels sample, its riffs on common staples burst with energy.
68. Alvin Band - Rainbow Road
Long ago, I was a /mu/ kid who, in the post-buzzband era, eagerly awaited Animal Collective’s follow-up to Merriweather Post Pavilion. In this fervor, someone posted a Mediafire claiming to be Centipede Hz. I feverishly consumed this link and downloaded with glee. What I thought to be “Moonjack” had the lyrics “Bowser’s castle” chanted at the beginning, thus confirming I’d been had. Nonetheless, Rainbow Road was a solid little find with really catchy, largely Mario-themed tunes. You can make fun of it for being an AnCo-ripoff but damn does the Miniature Tigers dude know how to write some hitters.
67. JAP MUTATION BOOTYISM - Japanese Juke&Footworks Compilation
Before writing for them, this was one of the first great finds I gained from Tiny Mix Tapes. I really didn’t predict Japan would have such a vibrant and fun footwork scene, and this compilation brings a sound collage-inspired vibe that is so unique among the genre.
66. Father - Young Hot Ebony
Think Father might be the most hilariously detached rapper of the decade, and Young Hot Ebony is his most potent argument for that statement. “2 Dead, 6 Wounded” casts a shrug at a house party shooting, with Father pondering how booze will get him into some dumb shit later. Dude is an impish presence that is always welcomed in rap.
65. Pacific Yew - (((( Maidenhair ))))
Wrote a brief vignette describing this record for TMT.
64. MCMXCI - Skogen, flickan och flaskan
If you can ape Autechre convincingly then I really can’t give you any shit.
63. Brown Sugar - Sings of Birds and Racism
Vicious punk straight from the gutter. Makes you want to go a dive bar and kick the shit out the nearest asshole Polish guy who thinks he owns the place. Although that might just be Cleveland-specific.
62. PISSGRAVE - Suicide Euphoria
Pissgrave and their gross-out thematics may seem simplistic, however, this simplicity is a perfect emotional conduit for death metal. Fascination with disgusting taboos and imagery is a long-known marker of metal, and Cannibal Corpse perfected the deliverance of anatomic monstrosities, yet we can see that the gruesome album covers aren’t so much for shock as they convey a certain numbness to death and dismemberment. God knows mainstream news has aired things similarly bone-chilling, but they’re not as visceral or flatly presented. Pissgrave presents us the realities we choose to ignore in beautiful 4K, and for that Suicide Euphoria claims its place as death metal’s document of the mundane.
61. bulldog eyes - shame
One of the most underlooked singer/songwriters of their generation, George Gould was a pioneer of bedroom pop and its ascendancy is bankrupt considering they never got their due credit. The veiled simplicity of their music mirrors Alex G, where both write songs that sound simple yet mask a hidden intricacy, inviting listeners back over and over again. If you’re a fan of Clairo, do yourself a favor and delete her discography to replace it with bulldog eyes’.
60. Cities Aviv - Black Pleasure
No discussion of underlooked artists from the 2010s can be complete without Cities Aviv. Almost any of his records could’ve made the list; his stylistic eccentricity was unmatched in hip-hop and he thoroughly occupied his own lane. I chose Black Pleasure because it is the ideal entry point for Cities Aviv, letting the listener into his world of hypnagogic rap, sound collage, and noise experiments. If you see his name on an album, you’re basically getting the auditory Nintendo seal of quality.
59. Tera Melos - X’ed Out
Having led the flag of math rock throughout the 2000s, Tera Melos pivoted in the new decade and decided to produce accessible indie that was nevertheless unmistakably them. Like their contemporaries Melt-Banana and Hella, they are idiosyncratic in the best possible way and ooze creativity through their delicious instrumentals. Also really glad that John Clardy is taking the fight to Hodgkin’s lymphoma, I wish him the best.
58. iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook - Discography
Compiled of 13 untitled tracks from two similarly untitled demos originally released in ‘04 and ‘05, 2010’s Discography conveniently packages iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook’s twenty-nine minute battle between existentialism and alacrity within one LP sleeve (or, thanks to Zegema Beach Records, one Bandcamp link). An ever-swinging pendulum in both lyric and pace, a crawling rally cry for compassion and breaking down walls on the second track changes seamlessly into “3”’s faster, frantic contemplation of suicide as the solution to avoid witnessing a romance’s inevitable decline. As the collection marches onward it’s clear these tonal shifts exist not in contradiction, but to build a brutally honest portrait of growth. There’s an abundance of unique melody woven into the chaos (found in the form of infectious songwriting and brilliant transitions that have influenced emotional hardcore contemporaries plenty in the years following) and few references to the blasting rhythms that would be heard on members’ later project, beloved powerviolence quintet Punch. As “13” concludes, there’s a lingering feeling; IWHACYY’s short run brought us something undeniably special. I implore screamo diehards, avoiders, and indifferents alike to give this sanguine masterpiece a spin and appreciate the cheeky loophole that merited its inclusion on this list. -Kevin Stratton
57. Typhonian Highlife - H.R. GIGER’S STUDIOLO
Technically a quadruple album that oozes with the most uncanny sensations known to musickind. As I’ve written before, Spencer Clark has to be not of this Earth and his musical contributions defy all sorts of logic and categorization. He is a master.
56. Shamir - Northtown
There’s nothing wrong per se with Shamir’s more recent music, confessional as it is. But god, what I wouldn’t give for a more fleshed-out exploration of Shamir’s first EP. Self-assured androgynous house that plays with your emotions and leaves mystery in the air? Even now it feels so damn fresh. The people clamor for more!!
55. Omni - Multi-task
Oh you like Women? Deerhunter? Mission of Burma? You’re referential? Omni is a salve, a manipulative succulent that feeds on influence and burrows itself into the riff pleasure center. Yeah they’re white guys playing post-punk and it's not super new. We can scrap it about it. Shit goes in.
54. Ugly Boy Modeling School - For niggas that dont read...picture this
Tall tales from the ghetto. Ugly speaks for the weird kids in the projects, alienated by constant poverty and straining to express themselves. It’s Chicago trap shit turned abstract art, wholly capturing and full of verve.
53. DJ Speedsick - Nothing Lasts
Originally on Bandcamp (404’d):
Techno often lends itself to a sense of community, a sense of utopia, as bodies coalesce on the dance floor. Nothing Lasts is the antithesis of this very idea. DJ Speedsick’s acid house is straight from the gutter—no polish, no propriety, only sick and noisy rhythms. His release fits perfectly on BANK Records NYC, whom have made a habit of giving the public music that aims straight for your bones. This is physiological music, aided by altered states and a sense of real disorder. “Death Trips” gives a fitting introduction to the LP, noise and beats colliding like fracturing earth, an unmoored and unwithering track.
There is psychedelia on Nothing Lasts, though it is not of the peaceful sort. DJ Speedsick takes the acid moniker very literally, and on cuts like “Head Full of Hate and Acid” and Northside LSD,” he gives voice to the dark side of dropping hallucinogens. It is decidedly Midwestern techno, a cool contrast to the melodic Chicago house and Detroit techno of old—but clearly indebted to Underground Resistance and ghettotech. Primal and assuredly unique, Nothing Lasts is one of the best electronic records of the year and a masterclass in how to trigger a visceral physical response with music.
52. Yowie - Damning With Faint Praise
Writing about this album feels damn near nonsensical because of the sheer incoherence of the instrumentals. Every time I type while listening to this I feel the letters rearranging themselves and jumping off the page as if written language is disintegrating onto itself. Weird atonal guitar music for the incorporeal among us.
51. VRTUA - LOUD FORMATIONS
Thank you to C Monster for blogging about this one time, a true TMT gem. Pushing the Sega Genesis sound chip to its fucking limit, VRTUA harnesses every liminal menu screen groove into a fully original album, crafting songs that sound familiar but bring about new cognitive recognition. If they ever make a Comix Zone or Ristar sequel, VRTUA needs to be the composer.
50. DJ DVD RIP - A THOUSAND YEARS OF BLISS
No offense to Ryan DeRobertis aka Saint Pepsi aka Skylar Spence but this should the defining statement of future funk. Holy moly the sample jamming is just immaculate, flavorful while still maintaining an infectious kineticism. The Baltimore club inspiration simply commands you to move. Like being on a dancefloor but your body parts are being adjusted like Lego pieces the entire time. An absolute paragon of internet house music.
Halfway done on this silly list, hope you’re all enjoying!